


Long Live the King

by terror1978



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Beheading, Dysfunctional Family, Friendship, Gen, Other, enoch is deaf and lip reads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 03:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15899568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terror1978/pseuds/terror1978
Summary: This plot takes place pre-game (before the Batter exists) during the Toad King's reign, when Zacharie is a child.





	Long Live the King

Zacharie licked the rest of the sugar from his hand, sucking the sweetness off his fingers. The sweet smell of baked goods wafted around the giant kitchen and under his nose. As the small boy sat on the counter his legs kicked slowly, watching the fat and apron-clad man in front of him pull a fantastic cake from the oven. Zacharie was amazed.   
“Enoch!” He exclaimed, eyes wide. He waited until Enoch had turned around, then repeated himself. “Enoch!”   
“I told you it would work, didn't I?” Enoch replied, setting it down and beaming with pride.   
“How did it turn into cake??” Zacharie asked.  
“How did it turn into cake? I explained already! Magic. And the heat of the oven.”   
“Wow…”   
“Have you never seen anything being baked?” When Zacharie shook his head, “Of course you haven't. Ha ha! I’m the only one who seems to know how to use sugar for baking. The Elsen all eat the sugar by itself. I suppose it is a faster way to satisfy their insatiable cravings.. Of course, I sell everything I-..” He trailed off when he noticed the kid was trying to get his attention again, and quieted so he could read his lips.   
“Can I eat it?” Zacharie asked, not seeming to care very much about the Elsen or Enoch’s business. He wiped his sticky hands on his shirt.   
“Why.. Eat it? That's why I baked it, isn't it? We must wait for it to cool first! Have some patience, little one!”   
“Okay..” He relented, and heaved a sigh. He didn't know what cravings were, but he understood why all the Elsen he met seemed to love sugar just as much as he did. It was just good. He liked to put the coarse crystals in his mouth and suck on them for a while before crunching them up. He couldn't imagine that sugar and cake were the same thing. Cake was almost as sweet, but warm and fluffy. It was like bread, but someone had come up with the idea of adding sugar and milk to it. Zacharie was convinced Enoch was a genius, with the finesse he had with food. He wished he could eat cake for a meal, but he always felt sick if it was eaten on an empty stomach. The world was so unfair.   
“Zacharie,” Enoch said abruptly, interrupting the boy’s thoughts. “Would you like to go play with Sucre until the cake is ready?”   
“Okayy,” Zacharie said, sighing again. Sucre was just a little kid, but he supposed she was alright. He began to get down from the counter and Enoch lifted him, setting him down with ease. Zacharie flashed him a smile before dashing out of the roomy kitchen to where Sucre would be. 

\--- 

“You're only four!” Zacharie protested, running down the hall.   
“Well- you're only five!!” Sucre retaliated.   
“Six!! I’m six!! It's my birthday!”  
“Fine!! You're only six!” Sucre yelled, a sudden speed taking over her small body. She sped up, and threw herself at Zacharie, tackling him. They both fell to the ground, Zacharie putting up somewhat of a fight before both children collapsed into laughter, untangling themselves and standing up.   
“You're stupid,” Sucre teased. She stuck her tongue out, then put a pacifier in her mouth.   
“I'm not stupid! You’re four and you still have a dummy!” Zacharie said, sticking his tongue out right back and crossing his arms.   
The pacifier immediately fell out of Sucre’s mouth, caught by the string around her neck. Offended, Sucre stepped forward to shove the boy. Zacharie grabbed her hands and then put the girl in half a headlock. She struggled, growling at him and making noises like a wild animal. She began to kick Zacharie’s legs.  
“Aahh!! Stop!” Zacharie gave up, letting Sucre go and catching his breath from the tussle.   
Sucre just grinned maniacally at him, reaching over to grab his hair when Enoch walked up to them.   
“Sucre,” Enoch warned.   
“Papa!!” Sucre immediately whined, whipping her hand away from Zacharie and folding her arms defiantly. “He was fighting me!!”   
“Wh- No!! Nuh-uh!!” Zacharie gasped.   
“I can't understand you if you talk at once,” Enoch said sternly, but then his voice got sweet and gruff again, as usual. “Do you two want lunch?”   
Sucre’s and Zacharie’s hostile expressions melted away like cotton candy, and both started giggling as they followed Sucre’s father, playfully pushing each other. 

\---

Zacharie rocked on his feet as he watched Enoch pack up the beautiful cake in paper to take back home. He felt incredibly pleased.   
“Joyeux anniversaire,” Enoch said, presenting the six-year old with the splendid birthday gift. Zacharie could hardly carry it, and he was beyond pleased with the perceived abundance of the dessert. “Do not eat it all in one place,” He warned good-naturedly. “And give my regards to your papa.”   
“Merci!!!” Zacharie squeaked happily. “I won't, sir! I will, sir!”   
“Are you going now?” Sucre asked disappointedly.   
“Oui! I have to!”   
“Aww.. Okay.. Save some birthday cake for me, okay?” She asked, still eating her slice in sticky bits with her fingers.   
“If I don't eat it all~”   
“No you won’t! Don’t you dare!”   
“Bye-bye!!” Zacharie chimed happily, carrying his birthday cake out of the door and out of the complex. He made a beeline for Zone 0, where he lived, running past Elsen and looking straight ahead so they wouldn’t try to talk to him. They scared him a little bit, and he didn’t want them to know that he had any sugar with him, or they would pester him endlessly. 

He made it to the train and climbed aboard, the few Elsen inside gasping when they saw him before anxiously returning to their business. Zach was not the confrontational type, but he didn’t enjoy the attention he got.   
Upon arriving to his home Zone, he felt cold dread starting to creep through him. The empty zone had never been his favorite place to be, and an intimidating castle was the first thing you could see from the train station, even though there was actually quite a bit of distance between the first station and the palace. Zacharie took a deep breath and trekked to the castle that he called his home, the package in his arms suddenly becoming cumbersome as he attempted to stand straight and nimbly go up the stairs. He entered the door of the grand ochre building, his feet creating echoing patters on the hard marble floor. He didn’t feel at home here, but sometimes it was fun to run around in the grand front hall when no one was around.   
Unfortunately for the boy, he heard large, slapping footsteps and instantly knew his father was around. He placed his cake on the ground and curled his hands to fists as he waited to be greeted.   
Presently, a behemoth of a toad was standing on all fours in front of Zacharie. Its slimy belly dragged on the ground as it walked instead of hopped, attempted to look graceful, its feet wetly slapping the ground as its bulging eyes pulsed every so often. A large crown sat atop its head like a party hat and just as garish.   
The Toad King sat in silence and regarded the prince.


End file.
